A heart for the one, a horizon for generations.

God never designed something without the ability to multiply. Multiplication, the power of going after one, and the long horizon that keeps you building when no one is watching.

The DNA of multiplication

God never designed something without the ability to multiply. Every part of our being has the potential to multiply and reproduce. That was always his design. So why would we design churches or small groups or leadership models in which they can’t multiply? There is something missed in the church today when it doesn’t have a heart to multiply. It loses its sense of purpose and mission. The heart to multiply, empower, equip, and be part of the Great Commission has to be in the DNA of what you’re building, or we miss the heart of God.

Going after the one

We don’t train our church to reach the nine million in New York City. We train our church to reach the one. That’s what has to keep you going, the idea of the one. As you grow, as you develop, as influence or success come, the one has to always be the reason. The fuel in your spirit has to be the one person that now knows Christ, that makes it all worth it.

The question I’ve been asked lately is, why would you leave the 99 in New York, you have something going there. What strikes me is that there are still ones there. But there are also ones in Paris. Ones in Berlin that we’ve now been called to reach. I’m not leaving the 99 in unhealthy places. I’ve focused on the 99 so that the ones out there can be reached. That’s the future, the ones you will reach as your 99 are healthy.

“An audience of One. A heart for the one. A horizon for generations.”

We’re built around the one. Our culture from the beginning, and what will sustain us, is for the one. First and foremost, you have to be doing all of this for an audience of One. Leading from a place of truth for One. It’s always for him, it’s his truth, his word you’re faithful to. Then on the other side, what motivates you has to be the one. The lost. The one person that now knows Christ.

Playing for the long horizon

Then you start to think about generations. The kids. The legacy. The one reached right now could impact a whole generation. Whatever you’re building, there’s a legacy attached to it. Always know that, always remember that. It changes how you act now, knowing there are future generations that will be changed by what you’re doing today.

Planting a church is not a short project. It’s the longest possible one. You plant it for the person who walks in next Sunday, and you also plant it for the great-grandchild of that person, the one you will never meet. For the city to be different because you were faithful for thirteen years, and thirty, and whatever comes after. For the next planter who sits where you’re sitting and needs to know someone did this before them.

If you’ve made it to the end of this library, I want to pray something over you. That the God who spoke the call in the first place would speak again in the weeks you’re about to walk into. That your team would be knit together for the long haul. That your marriage would be guarded. That the city you’ve been given would open to you in ways you don’t yet see. That the ones you’re about to reach are already being prepared by the Holy Spirit before you arrive. That generations you will never meet would call you blessed.

You’re not alone in this. I’d love to connect with you. If you’re wrestling with a particular chapter of your plant, or you want to be in touch about coaching, please reach out through the contact page. Go well.